Brian Firkus' POV (age 16)
Pat has just shown me around the kitchen – where the cups, plates, bowls and cutlery live. She's also just placed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of me. I look at it but don't touch it. "Is this okay, Brian?"
Brian Firkus' POV (age 6)
There's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of me, but it's cut into squares, not triangles. I told her I wanted triangles! The crusts are still on it, too! "Mom, I told you – triangles! And there's still crust on this sandwich and that's icky." She's ignoring me. That is so rude!
"Moooooooom!" It's quiet, except from the sizzling of the pan she is using on the stove to make her own lunch. "Mom, you told me ignoring people is rude."
"Brian."
I jump. It's a scary, deep voice. Oh, no.
"Why the fuck are you yelling?" It's my stepdad.
"Um..." I don't wanna look at him. When he gets mad, his face goes super red and he has a vein on his forehead that pops out. "Well, Mom cut my sandwich different from how I like it, and she—"
"Fucking hell, Brian. You can be such a fucking pussy."
"Don't speak to him like that," my mom says firmly.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that!"
I start crying – I hate it when it gets loud like this; when Mom and Reg start yelling at each other. I shouldn't hate it anymore though, I should be used to it. It happens a lot. "Oh, for fuck's sake, stop being such a goddamn Trixie."
"Reg, don't you dare!"
"Fuck you, Valerie. Your son is a queer, and I'm not having that in my house." Mom and Reg walk away down the hall, still yelling and saying bad words to each other, and I'm still sitting at the table crying, with my peanut butter and jelly sandwich still sitting in front of me. A door slams. Whatever Mom was cooking is burning now, and it smells bad, but I don't think she cares very much.
Brian Firkus' POV (age 16)
"It's fine, thank you." I swallow and take a small bite. It tastes fine, but I still remember that day, and every single bad one after it. Brian sits down next to me with his sandwich he made for himself, along with two glasses of orange juice. He slides one towards me with his bright smile plastered on his face. "Thank you," I mumble. He nods and turns towards his food.
Once we've finished eating, he guides me to the living room. He turns the TV on and we sit quietly, looking at the show, but not really watching. Brian suddenly turns towards me. "We don't know anything about each other."
"Nope, you're right."
"Alright, tell me a fact about you, then I'll say one about me."
"Umm... I was born in Milwaukee?" I say, raising my voice in a question.
"Okay, cool! Lemme think... Well, I was born in here in Boston." I nod and think of my next fact.
"I'm 16 years old," I tell him, more confident in my response.
"I am 24 years old." I'm shocked – he looks about 19 to me.
"Oh, I thought you were younger than that."
Brian smiles at me. "See? We're basically brothers already!" I smile back for the first time since I got here. "Aw, look, you have a great smile!"
"Oh, thank you." I grin. We continue to swap facts about each other for much longer than we had each anticipated. We are soon at a mall, entering a Bed, Bath and Beyond for some sheets, a quilt cover and some general decorations for my new bedroom. Brian lifts up a sheet set package from a display in front of him – they're a medium baby blue, and I love them. We wander further for a little while longer and find a black and white quilt cover that I think will look great, along with a beautiful wall art piece that I just love – it's three frames of sea coral painted different shades of blue, all melted together and it's gorgeous. As I pick up the frames, Brian becomes intrigued. "Why the blue theme?" he queries.
"I love blue; it's my favourite colour. It's super calming and having it in the space you're supposed to feel the calmest is quite appropriate, wouldn't you think?" Brian smiles at me with soft eyes. "Blue is my favourite, too."
